Mediterranean Hegemony Road

With the advent of winter, the German-Austrian allied forces ended their strategy on the Eastern Front. After grabbing most of Ukraine, the German-Austrian allied forces had to stop their eastward march due to logistical constraints and turned their attention to the southern front.

Ferdinand made a big move in Romania, how could he hide from the Allies? There is a Romanian government in exile, so it is not easy to get some information about Romania.

Originally, Falkenham planned to turn around and kill the French in one fell swoop on the western front after the battle on the eastern front was over, ending this brutal war.

However, Bulgaria continued to send troops to Romania, which attracted the attention of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In just a few months, millions of troops were gathered, and this number continued to increase. Conrad, who was not stupid, knew that it was aimed at them, and immediately asked the Germans for help.

Now the border between Bulgaria and the Austro-Hungarian Empire is already very long. Fortunately, the Bosnia and Herzegovina region is dominated by mountains, and it is unlikely that the two sides will have a war there. 1ti1ti

But other areas are in trouble. Just like Belgrade, the Bulgarian front has threatened the Hungarian Plain, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire has to deploy heavy troops for defense.

Due to the failure of the winter battle in the first half of the year, Transinia fell, and now the Kingdom of Hungary has been exposed to the Bulgarian front.

Now Bulgaria has gathered heavy troops in Romania. If the main force of the Allied countries leaves, Bulgaria will attack, and the Kingdom of Hungary cannot stop it.

Within a year, after two consecutive wars, the Austro-Hungarian Empire is now exhausted, and now they have no strength to fight against Bulgaria alone.

The winter battle at the beginning of the year was disastrously defeated, and more than 1.5 million troops were directly lost; then they jointly launched the summer counter-offensive with the Germans. This battle was very beautiful, but they still paid nearly 800,000 Russians casualties. 1ti1ti

In the eyes of the Germans, Italy is so funny that it is no longer their ally, and it will be a matter of time to surrender to the Allies.

The other allies have basically died, leaving the only ally, the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If you don’t help, you can’t let the Austro-Hungarian Empire fall anyway. This is the bottom line of the Germans.

So Falkenham had to take this tired army to battle on the southern front. Of course, the war could not be fought in a day or two, and neither side was ready.

At least Falkenham won't attack until the Germans' logistical supplies are in place, and it's even more impossible for Ferdinand to let his troops go to the plains to fight the German-Austrian allied forces. how much moisture

If it is to rely on the position to defend, these cannon fodder troops can still be used. No matter how bad they are, they can consume the enemy's troops. If they enter a field state, these hundreds of thousands of cannon fodder troops can only be responsible for sending people. 1ti1ti

Conrad once again found Fa Jinhan, the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Front of the German-Austrian allied forces, and asked, "Your Excellency, when will we attack the Bulgarians?"

Falkenham rubbed his forehead. He couldn't remember how many times Conrad had urged him, but the problem was that the current state of the German army on the Eastern Front was not as good as it appeared to be.

The Germans were people, not machines, and they also needed to rest. The Russians who have just been maimed are beautiful to the outside world, but in fact only they themselves know the pain inside.

In World War I, more than three million Russian troops were killed, and the main force of the Russians was almost finished. They lost their wealth accumulated over more than ten years. Even if they could quickly restore their troops, they would not be able to restore their combat effectiveness.

But the Germans didn't lose. How is this possible? At its peak, the total strength of the German army on the Eastern Front was as high as 2.2 million. Now there are only 1.1 million left. With more than 100,000 troops, the Germans still permanently lost more than 600,000 troops. 1ti1ti

Falkingham also wanted to conquer Romania, where not only the oil resources that the Allies were most in short supply, but also the granary of the Wallachia Plain.

But the problem is that the Bulgarian army on the opposite side has more than one million, and the number is still increasing. No matter what the combat strength is, it is enough for them to drink a pot.

In this battle on the Eastern Front, the Russians lost in logistics, but it does not mean that the logistics of the Germans are so good. If it weren't for the logistical chaos of the Allies in the middle of the war, now the Russians would have really lost their panties

Faginhan said with a wry smile: "Your Excellency Marshal, it's not like you don't know the current situation. This Eastern Front battle has consumed a lot of our combat supplies, and now it is in urgent need of replenishment. Your army is about the same.

Moreover, after several months of continuous combat, the soldiers are already very tired, they need to rest, and these all take time. 1ti1ti

I think it would have been nice to be able to attack the Bulgarians years ago."

Conrad said helplessly: "I know all this, but now the country is constantly urging us to attack on the southern front as soon as possible, and the Bulgarians are about to move again, and they are likely to attack again in the Belgrade area.

The Hungarian Kingdom has been very noisy recently. They are worried about the lost Transinia, and Britain and France are interfering in it. They are now making demands. If we cannot recapture Transinia as soon as possible, they will simply withdraw from the war"

It is difficult for people who are not Austro-Hungarians to understand the institutional structure of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As a dual-system empire, the Kingdom of Hungary has a very large amount of autonomy.

Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire is still Austria, the Hungarian government can not cooperate. Without the support of the Kingdom of Hungary, the war potential of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is equivalent to a third reduction. 1ti1ti

Political pressure naturally turned into military pressure. As the chief of staff of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Konrad had to find a way to attack as soon as possible to ease the increasingly severe political situation in the country.

Conrad put the situation on the bright side, and Falkenham couldn't continue to pretend to be stupid, and had to agree to start the battle on the southern front in advance.

"Okay then, wait another half a month, we will attack the enemy," Faginham said with a headache

Similarly, due to insufficient preparation, the German army could not use its full strength, so this time it is a battle, it is better to say that it is a political battle to give an explanation to all parties in politics.

After fighting Conrad, Falkingham began to worry about the war again, and he had no doubts that the Allies could win the battle. 1ti1ti

But as a commander-in-chief, especially as he is the chief of staff of the German army, it is not only necessary to consider the problem from the tactical level, but also to take a more comprehensive and in-depth consideration of the problem from the strategic point of view.

First of all, he must control the casualties of the German army. In the two battles on the Eastern Front in 1916, the German army had lost millions of troops, and in the war that lasted for a year and a half on the Western Front, the losses of the German army naturally exceeded 100. wan

Note that the "loss" here refers to the loss of troops, not casualties. This "loss" refers to the permanent loss of this part of the troops, mainly refers to: soldiers who died, were captured, were injured and disabled and lost their combat effectiveness, excluding those who were injured recoverable soldier

It can be said that the losses of the German army now have far exceeded the historical period.

Don't look at the tactical German army, who killed Belgium on the western front, while pressing the British and French to fight, and crippled the Russians on the eastern front 1ti1ti

But strategically, the Germans did not achieve real victories.

Although the Russians on the Eastern Front were defeated, they did not withdraw from the war. When this winter ends, there will still be four or five million gray animals on the Eastern Front next year, and the situation of the two-front battle has not changed.

Not to mention the Western Front. For more than half a year, the number of British and French troops has been rising, and the combat effectiveness is not to mention, but this number is already huge and the Germans feel dangerous.

More than 2.4 million French troops, more than 600,000 British troops, 200,000 Belgian troops, plus more than 1.5 million colonial cannon fodder troops, and the colonial troops are still operating at more than 20 divisions per month. degree is growing.

This is also the reason why the Germans are eager to fight with Britain and France. If the British and French troops continue to expand, they may really use the sea tactics to consume the Germans in the future. 1ti1ti

Of course, the growth of troops on the Western Front is not unlimited. What restricts them is not human resources, but strategic materials. The transportation capacity of the Allied countries is not unlimited, and it is almost reaching its limit now.

Now in the war on the Western Front, Britain and France are commanding the colonial army to launch a counterattack against the Germans every day. The purpose is obviously to consume the German troops.

The use of cannon fodder to consume the main German army, no matter what the exchange ratio is, is acceptable for Britain and France, but the Germans cannot.

Since the battle on the Eastern Front, Britain and France have started this shrinking tactics. In a few months, they still caused more than 200,000 casualties to the German army. Of course, their casualties were even greater, but most of the dead were cannon fodder. No pressure at all.

The more Falkenham thought about it, and finally he suddenly realized that Germany was in danger. No matter what kind of victory he played on the southern front, it could not change Germany's strategic crisis.

Fighting is killing people. Now there are more than 1.8 million troops of the Austro-Hungarian Empire on the southern front, but only 600,000 to 700,000 troops can really enter the Romanian battlefield. The rest of the troops are on the border line. Go up against Bulgaria and Bear.

Although the German army now has more than 1.1 million, he still has to allocate half of his troops to defend against polar bears, and the actual troops that can be put into the battlefield are less than 600,000.

Even if it is 600,000 German troops and 700,000 Austro-Hungarian troops, will these troops be able to defeat Bulgaria? Will the enemy not add more troops?

At least in his view, the Balkans are much more important than the peninsula of Asia Minor. If it is necessary for the war, there is no pressure on Bulgaria to deploy hundreds of thousands of troops. At least there are hundreds of thousands of reserve troops in the country that can be used.

And even if the battle is won, what price will the German army pay? The Bulgarian army on the opposite side has raised the turtle shell, and at a glance, it is full of criss-crossed trenches. 1ti1ti

Due to the short period of time, most of the fortifications built by the Bulgarians are very simple, but they cannot stand up many defense lines. As long as it is suitable for setting up defense lines, basically trenches are dug.

And this is exactly what Faginhan didn't want to see. The thickness of the Bulgarian army's defense line is really beyond his imagination. If it moves dozens of kilometers, it will almost catch up with the western front. It is completely a war of attrition. appearance.

In the light of the fact that it is better to be happy alone than to be happy, Falkenham returned his speculation to the German High Command. To sum it up, if Germany wants to win this war, first solve the problem of materials.

Otherwise, like now, I knew that the sooner the war was launched, the better it would be for the German army, but due to waiting for strategic supplies, the fighters were delayed in vain.

If the supply of materials can be opened, the German-Austrian coalition does not need to go to Ukraine to grab food, and has already attacked the Romanian region. 1ti1ti

You must know that when the Russian army just evacuated, the Bulgarian army in Romania was only about 400,000. At that time, as long as the German-Austrian allied forces attacked with all their strength, even if Ferdinand was a traveler, there was no way to keep Romania.

Even after the over 2 million German-Austrian coalition forces conquered Romania, they still had the opportunity to break into the mainland of Bulgaria in one go, crippling Bulgaria, and ending the long-term confrontation on the southern front.

But it is different now. More than two months have passed, and the Bulgarian army has assembled more than one million. Even if the Germans can achieve a tactical victory, there is no way to achieve a strategic victory.

Before the window paper was pierced, all of this was covered up under the constant triumph of the German army; but as soon as the window paper was pierced, the German high-level executives immediately had problems.

Wilhelm II also began to formally address this issue. Although the current situation is dangerous, the German army is still the world's No. 1 military power. Even the second-ranked France and the third-ranked Bulgaria are not their opponents. 1ti1ti

But two fists are hard to beat with four hands. The Entente has four powers, Britain, France, Russia, and Paul; while the Allies have only two Germans, Austria, and two powers, Italy, which is a fake power.

The current strength rankings of the 6 armies of various countries based on the German staff:

German boss 1o

France next 5

Bulgaria third 33

Fourth of the Russian Empire 31

Austro-Hungarian 5th 31st

UK sixth 28

Italy 13

With a huge number of troops, the Russians were originally the second-largest 6-army power, but due to the heavy losses they just lost in the Eastern Front battle, they fell to the fourth.

According to the ranking of the strength of the 6 armies according to the statistics of the German General Staff, the strengths of the Allies and the Allies are roughly equal, while the strength of the Allies is more concentrated, and they can completely defeat the enemy.

However, the Allied countries were limited by the lack of strategic materials, which restricted the military's combat effectiveness and could not defeat the opponents individually.

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